Interfaith Hospitality Network gets people back on their feet continues:

Neither Julio Torres, 29, nor his wife, Jennifer Natal, 22, had been able to find work since moving here last year from the East Coast.  The network provided the homeless couple with a place to stay while they looked for jobs.  The family had lost everything, Torres said.  

After witnessing a shooting in front of their New Jersey apartment, the couple came to Colorado Springs in search of a safe place to raise their 2-year-old daughter.

To pay for their move and living expenses, the couple had slowly sold off their possessions - a big-screen TV, expensive furniture and a favorite car - until nothing was left.

Torres spent his days in an exhausting job search, he said, but couldn't land a position that paid enough to support the couple and their daughter, Jaylee.  

For three months, Torres separated from his wife and lived alone on the streets, while his wife and daughter stayed with her mother, where he didn't want to stay.

"I was officially homeless," he said.   Even so, his wife missed him and chose to keep the family together; she joined Torres on the streets with their daughter.  Then the young family was referred to the charity by workers at other agencies that gave the couple help.  For the next three months, the Interfaith Hospitality Network provided shelter and supported the couple's job search.

Today both are working and are renting an apartment.  A former pharmacy technician, Torres decided to change careers since he lacked certification in the state of Colorado. 

Now he is employed helping people get assistance at Pikes Peak United Way.  Natal works as a children's photographer at a mall.  

Without Interfaith Hospitality Network, Torres says, "I would never have gotten to where I am. It's a true blessing."  The program provides a range of resources to its clients - all with the goal of building self-sufficiency.  During business hours at the charity's downtown office, several Christian, Jewish and Buddhist groups work together to provide support services.  Families get help with everything from employment and training in financial management to the more mundane daily chores of laundry and showers.

In the evening, clients move to various churches where the congregations provide meals and overnight lodging.  

Torres credits Interfaith Hospitality Network with helping the couple learn to live on a budget.  During their stay with the program, they were able to get started on a savings plan. Someday, Torres envisions buying a home, he said.  To establish the couple in their new apartment, the charity provided the first month's rent, furniture and dishes, and a computer so they can continue to track their budget.

Torres is grateful to his caseworker, Nancy Cornwell, for telling him about the job opening, getting his resume submitted and providing the professional wardrobe he needed for the job. Cornwell said she is proud of the transformation she sees in Torres: Once a "kid in a do-rag, now he goes to work in a suit and tie."

For information on the work of Interfaith Hospitality Network of Colorado Springs or to speak with the Executive Directors call 719-329-1244 and ask for Tom or Bev Agnew.

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